Let us pray (in silence) [that God produces good fruit through us]
Pause
Ever-living God,
guide all we do by your loving will,
so that in the name of your beloved Son
our lives may be rich in good works,
through Jesus Christ, our Saviour
who is alive with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Many denominations and churches celebrate a “Bible Sunday” each year. But there is no agreed day to do this. I have seen July, August, October,…
In 2019, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter (motu proprio), Aperuit illis, establishing for Roman Catholics the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time [Sunday between 21-27 January] as the Sunday of the Word of God. That’s this Sunday [26 January]. My suggestion is, as this is the date for Bible Sunday now celebrated by the majority of Christians, that we all unite in having this Sunday as our ecumenical Bible Sunday – our shared Sunday of the Word of God.
Let us pray (in silence) [that we may persevere in our growth into God’s life]
pause
God of inspiration,
you caused all holy scriptures to be written for our instruction,
grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of your holy Word,
we may embrace and ever hold fast to the blessed hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen.
My reflection on this collect is here or below.
I have long advocated that one have themed Sundays by all means BUT don’t change the agreed lectionary readings; don’t have “themed” readings ripped out of context by a concordance. [Have, for example, Social Services Sunday, but don’t change the agreed RCL/3Year readings for it; if you can’t find social points somewhere in the 3 agreed readings and the psalm then you shouldn’t be leading a community or preaching.] So there is no question that this Sunday Roman Catholics will abandon the lectionary to read concordance-picked readings about the Word of God. The way we treat the Bible in worship is a focus; preaching about the Bible; mentioning the Bible in prayers and in our singing,…
I suggest that you read the Pope’s letter in full.
In that letter, the Pope gives some suggestions:
The various communities will find their own ways to mark this Sunday with a certain solemnity. It is important, however, that in the Eucharistic celebration the sacred text be enthroned, in order to focus the attention of the assembly on the normative value of God’s word. On this Sunday, it would be particularly appropriate to highlight the proclamation of the word of the Lord and to emphasize in the homily the honour that it is due. Bishops could celebrate the Rite of Installation of Lectors or a similar commissioning of readers, in order to bring out the importance of the proclamation of God’s word in the liturgy. In this regard, renewed efforts should be made to provide members of the faithful with the training needed to be genuine proclaimers of the word, as is already the practice in the case of acolytes or extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion. Pastors can also find ways of giving a Bible, or one of its books, to the entire assembly as a way of showing the importance of learning how to read, appreciate and pray daily with sacred Scripture, especially through the practice of lectio divina.Pope Francis (Aperuit illis 3)
The National Liturgy Office website of the Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand gives some excellent suggestions.
I suggest the collect above, based on Cranmer’s.
I am guessing that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time was chosen as this is the Sunday when the Ordinary-Time systematic, semi-continuous reading of the Year’s Synoptic Gospel begins. Note also, that this does not clash for those who celebrate Candlemas moved to Sunday (this year, 2 February actually is a Sunday).
This week, for Christians in the Northern Hemisphere, is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Christians are not united about when to pray for unity. Those in the Southern Hemisphere pray for Christian Unity later in the year.
Resources beyond this site:
Textweek
Preaching Resources Down Under
The NZ Anglican Lectionary booklet continues to incorrectly term this coming Sunday, “3rd Sunday of THE Epiphany” – I presume that it is accidentally conflating “of Epiphany” and “after the Epiphany”.
Reflection on the Collect
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus,
dirige actus nostros in beneplacito tuo,
ut in nomine dilecti Filii tui
mereamur bonis operibus abundare.
The earliest this prayer is found is in the Hadrianum, a sacramentary given by Pope Hadrian I to Charlemagne (in 785-6). There it is a prayer for “another Sunday” in January.
Some biblical connections: Eph 1:9; 1 Cor 10:5; Luke 2:14; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12.
In the 1962 Missale Romanum this was the Collect for the Sunday in the Octave of Christmas.
It is now prayed in the Roman Catholic Church (and elsewhere) on the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. There is now ecumenical agreement about the Reformation controversies around salvation, merit, and good works. Further reading (beyond this site) could involve the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, agreed to by bodies representing over 3/4 of the world’s Christians. God is the source and purpose of good works.
ICEL 1973:
All-powerful and ever-living God,
direct your love that is within us,
that our efforts in the name of your Son
may bring mankind to unity and peace.
Current (2011) ICEL:
Almighty ever-living God,
direct our actions according to your good pleasure,
that in the name of your beloved Son
we may abound in good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever
An excellent reflection (beyond this site) is found here.
Do follow:
The Liturgy Facebook Page
The Liturgy Twitter Profile
The Liturgy Instagram
and/or sign up to a not-too-often email
Although I did not see or hear mention of it being Bible Sunday at the Washington Cathedral this Sunday, the Cathedral provost, The Rev. Canon Jan Naylor Cope, seemed to give recognition to that in her sermon, which also followed the guidelines in your recent Preaching 101 (with the possible exception of its 17 minute length). It’s very Biblical and very topical — what’s most needed today in Washington and other places. Link is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FOqNAe3rNM&list=PL1nLVw6M_fPhEBLmlkA6SnD9c47ax6WcF